Seniors Participate in Online Communities for Fun and Intellectual Stimulation
Seniors Participate in Online Communities for Fun and Intellectual Stimulation
October 10, 2011
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, October 10, 2011 — According to a new paper published by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researcher Dr. Galit Nimrod, seniors “just want to have fun” on the Internet. They are participating in online communities for intellectual stimulation and amusement.
Dr. Nimrod, of BGU’s Department of Communication Studies and the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging, examined 50,000 postings from 14 leading online communities, using a novel computerized system. The study is published this month in The Gerontologist in an article titled “The Fun Culture in Seniors’ Online Communities.”
The research shows that seniors joined online forums and played trivia or word games, associative games or creative games with each other. Such games maintained their mental acuity even while providing them with an online, albeit anonymous, community. Topics of conversation covered repeatedly during the online forum included sex, gender differences, old age, grandparenting, politics, alcohol, and faith.
“Rather than mourning the loss of cognitive or sexual function, the forum members instead just laugh at everything,” Nimrod explains.
“I believe that this attitude stays with the members, even offline. Therefore, the communities represent a tool to assist seniors in dealing with stress, loss and other negative events. At the same time, they likely contribute to the protection, preservation and even bolster their self-image.”
According to Nimrod, the online communities provide the seniors with an opportunity to play in a reality that does not afford them so many play alternatives.
“For a game to be interesting to a senior, it needs to be relevant to his or her life, allow a connection to others, and provide an opportunity for self-development or others’ development. The games in the online communities meet all these requirements and that apparently explains their popularity.”
Research suggests that the immediate gratification the games contributed to the seniors’ overall well-being helps with the ability to deal with the losses and changes that characterize old age. According to other published research studies, the more robust a senior’s community, the better his or her welfare.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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